Soccer Culture
Tyron and his family were recipients of the Spread the Love welcome packet for the April 6th match against Houston.
Long-time Timbers season ticket holder and Axe Society member, Tim Birr, nominated Tyron. Tim has been a familiar face in the North End since 2001, and is a member of local drum and pipe band that has performed at many Timbers matches over the years.
Tyron is a long-time soccer fan, who saw his first Timbers game when he was a young boy. Because of his work schedule, he has been unable to attend a live MLS Timbers match, usually watching the television recording the next day.
Thanks to Tim’s nomination, Tyron was able to bring his wife, daughters, niece, and nephew to their first Timbers game.
We caught up with Tyron after the Houston game to ask him about his family’s experience at the match:
What was your reaction when you received the Spread the Love welcome packet?
I was overwhelmed at the amount of tickets I received. My wife and I both work and it's a struggle to see a Timbers match live. I grew up playing soccer at the age of five and most of the Timbers games I watched have been recorded from the night before, and I usually get up before the kids are awake and watch the games. To be able to take my children to the game was very special because I got to see my first Timbers match at their age.
What were you most looking forward to about attending a Timbers match?
Being there to watch the game live with other fans and knowing the excitement fans have at soccer match.
Describe your experience attending the game?
Sitting there with my wife and daughters meant the world to me. Growing up loving the game and knowing now that my children have seen a Timbers game they will become fans for life. The most excitement of the match was when the Timbers scored and my kids screamed with excitement! They truly enjoyed the match.
What does "Spread the Love" mean to you?
Spread the Love means an opportunity to become a bigger fan of the Timbers then I already am. I've watched and attended other sporting events, and appreciate the Timbers taking the time for people in the community that wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to see a match by giving them free tickets. Spread the Love means to me that the Timbers are really part of my community.
During the previous home match against Montreal, the Portland Timbers Food Cart Alliance featured Nong’s Khao Man Gai. Nong’s signature chicken and rice dish with their famous ginger/soybean chili sauce as well as fried chicken wings smothered in Nong’s sweet chili glaze was a huge hit. In fact, the dishes were so popular that Nong’s sold out during the match.
If you missed out on Nong’s delicious offerings, fear not. The Portland Timbers Food Cart Alliance has invited Nong’s Khao Man Gai back to be the featured food cart for the April 6th match against the Houston Dynamo.
Nong’s will be serving up their signature chicken as well as their fried chicken wings at the Soccer City Grill concession stand located at the southeast corner of JELD-WEN Field above Section 93.
To read what Nong had to say about her love for soccer and excitement at being part of a Timbers match, click here.
Interested in being part of the Portland Timbers Food Cart Alliance? Apply today.
Winning Instagram from March by @didikimm
It has been said that soccer players are creatures of habit. Most have their matchday routines, and few stray from their superstitious rituals for fear of angering the soccer gods.
Some eat the same pregame meal, while others have a particular order in which they dress. From an outside perspective it might seem odd, but to the rest of us it’s part of the game.
For fans, it’s no different. Superstitious by nature, many fans have a pregame ritual they abide by. Stumptown Coffee Roasters want to know what your ritual is. Do you wear the same faded t-shirt or frayed scarf? Do you and your friends bike to the match? Share it with us.
Throughout the 2013 season, the Portland Timbers and Stumptown Coffee Roasters are asking fans to share their pre-game rituals for the first home match of every month. All you have to do is Instagram a shot of your morning pregame ritual and share it with the hashtag #SCRTimbers.
One random fan will be selected each month to win a prize pack from Stumptown and the Timbers that includes:
- One (1) Signed Timbers Jersey
- One (1) 12oz bag of Kenya Gaturiri Coffee
- Two (2) Stumptown Coffee Roaster Mugs
- One (1) Stumptown Branded Red Rooster Hand Mill Grinder
Last month, @didikimm won the Stumptown & Timbers prize pack for her Instagram of Timbers fans braving cold weather and long lines to get into JELD-WEN Field prior to the season opener. This month, it could be you.
For full contest rules, click here.
The scarf. At first glance, it appears to be a simple fashion accessory. However, to soccer supporters around the world it is a matchday essential.
Many scarves utilize the traditional two-color bar pattern. Others commemorate specific matches or moments in club history, lyrics from supporters’ songs and chants, or legendary players.
And just like the supporters who don them proudly, soccer scarves may look the same in design, but each tells a different story of past memories. Every supporter remembers their first scarf and the sweat, tears, smoke, and occasional spilled beer that live within its fabric.
Some wear their scarves for warmth during brisk late-season matches, while others display them as a badge of honor and pride. They are a supporter’s tool during songs, and best friend during celebratory smoke bombs. It can be a sign of support in triumph, and a beacon of solidarity in defeat. The scarf is colorful, vibrant, and unifying voice of the supporters.
Many scarves function as practical accessories for matchday, and many others find residence on display in homes, offices, and bars. The varieties and uses of scarves are endless, and supporters are always seeking out the next addition to their collection.
The Portland Timbers recognize this, and are giving fans an opportunity to collect a new, unique scarf every month of the season.
- The 2013 Timbers “Scarf of the Month” Program gives fans an exclusive opportunity to collect limited edition official scarf designs throughout the season
- Generally, the “Scarf of the Month” will launch online several days before it launches in-stadium at the first home match of every month
- Designs are exclusive to the adidas Timbers Team Store & shop.portlandtimbers.com
- All are limited edition available in limited quantities
- All are $28 retail price
- For first dibs on your “Scarf of the Month” be sure to sign up for the Team Store mailing list at http://shop.portlandtimbers.com/signup.html
The Scarf of the Month for April is available now online at shop.portlandtimbers.com and will be available in-store on April 6. Keep in mind, each of these scarves are limited quantity. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.
Bless Field plan courtesy OPI
A ball, some kids, and a place to play. When you get down to it, soccer is a simple game.
However, sometimes finding that place to play becomes a challenge.
The good folks over at Operation Pitch Invasion have set out to change that. OPI, a tightly connected affiliate of the Timbers Army 107 Independent Supporters Trust, has been working since 2011 helping repair soccer fields throughout Portland as well as fundraising for the creation of whole new ones.
Their next project is Bless Field at New Colombia. As their release says: "Bless Field is uniquely situated in a neighborhood where children from 22 countries, who speak 11 languages (plus the common language of soccer), take their first steps into integrating into the larger community." The Portland Timbers Community Fund has come on board with a commitment and OPI is organizing a very unique event to raise further funds that is sure to entertain the hardiest of Timbers fans:
“Beating Seattle Never Gets Old”
Thursday April 4; 7:00 pm
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd
$12 in advance; $15 at the door
Hosted by 5 Minutes to Kickoff's Bob Kellett and Steven Lenhart, the evening is a gathering of past Timbers greats from the NASL era including Willie Anderson, Bernie Fagan, Roger Goldingay, Mick Hoban, Bill Irwin, and Jimmy Kelly talking about great moments of Timbers history.
Come see highlights of the Timbers playing against Pele and his Cosmos in Portland in 1976; the Timbers playing the Chicago Sting at Wrigley Field in 1982; and, in an extended cut, the Timbers playing the Seattle Sounders in a playoff semifinal before a record crowd in Portland in 1975.
It's a special night with some rare footage, great stories, and every penny raised goes straight back to Bless Field. Only 350 tickets are available, so get yours now.
So you may have heard there was some snow in Denver tonight for the USA vs. Costa Rica Hex World Cup Qualifier. Dempsey gave the U.S. the 1-0 win.
With the U.S. Men's National Team busy preparing for their World Cup Qualifier against Costa Rica tomorrow night (7pm PT, ESPN), KICKTV has put together this very nice primer on just what the Hexagonal is. In short, it's the long and difficult pathway for CONCACAF teams to qualify for the World Cup.
KICKTV also had great Hexagonal coverage of the first match against Honduras in episodes one and two.
Elsewhere in the Hex, Timbers forward Ryan Johnson and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts go to battle for Jamaica as they take on Panama in Kingston on Friday evening at 6:30pm PT. Updates throughout the match can be found via the Jamaican Football Federation's Twitter feed @ItsTheJFF.
Over in Africa, Futty Danso joined the Scorpions of The Gambia National Team for a World Cup qualifier on Saturday against Ivory Coast. In a tune-up friendly this week against Niger, Danso scored the second goal in a 3-1 win.
Also in action tomorrow is Timbers midfielder Will Johnson whose Canadian Men's National Team is in Qatar for a friendly against Japan.
Good afternoon from the Doha Sports City in Qatar. The facilities are immaculate. twitter.com/WillJohnson04/…
— Will Johnson (@WillJohnson04) March 19, 2013
Follow @CanadaSoccerEN for updates tomorrow beginning at 9am PT.
The Backcut Podcast: Oregonian's Geoffrey C. Arnold and his new book on the Portland-Seattle rivalry
As a Portland Timbers fan, there's really nothing like attending a rivalry match against the Seattle Sounders. It is fierce, visceral, loud, spirited, entertaining, awe-inspiring . . . and that's just the first ten minutes of the supporters groups' tifo unveiling.
The battle on the field can raise the stakes to a whole other level. This Saturday's clash between the Timbers and Sounders (Mar. 16, 5pm PT, NBC Sports Network, 750 AM The Game / La Pantera 940) culminates an entire day of Rivalry Week intensity. NBC Sports Network will air three of the games and have a special highlight show during the afternoon jumping from each of the other matches around the league.
This emphasis on MLS rivalries has grown each year but the Portland-Seattle clash has proved to be a premier event. And no wonder. The uniqueness of this soccer animosity goes back nearly 40 years skipping across NASL, USL and MLS editions of both teams.
Oregonian sports writer Geoffrey C. Arnold is the paper's primary Timbers and soccer beat writer. Covering Oregon sports for over twenty years, Arnold has attended MLS Cup, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, and much more. But it was the 2009 U.S. Open Cup match between the then USL-era Timbers and the then first-year MLS Sounders that piqued his interest around this loud and incredible rivalry. He set out to find more about the heros and villains, interviewed players past and present, examined the art of the tifo and much more. The result: Cascadia Clash: Sounders vs. Timbers.
On the eve of this next installment of the Cascadia Cup Portland-Seattle rivalry, I sat down with Arnold to find out more how he started his book, why he thinks such conflicth exists between the teams, supporters, and cities, and where he thinks the rivalry will be headed to next.
Be sure to sit back and take in all the league's rivalry matches throughout the day.
The Backcut Podcast sits at the intersection of Timbers, Thorns, soccer & culture to explore the unique elements of the beautiful game. You can subscribe to The Backcut on iTunes in the same feed as the Talk Timbers podcast.
Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer
Earlier this week in the UEFA Champions League, Turkish side Galatasaray traveled to Germany to take on Schalke. It was a crucial encounter that Galatasaray eventually won 3-2 to move on to the quarterfinals. Their rabid fan base traveled en masse and though the away section was overflowing, there were reports of supporters attempting to carve a tunnel under the fence to get in.
According to The Guardian, "(Schalke Sporting Director Hans) Heldt confirmed the incident before the game, which ended with a 4-3 aggregate victory for the Turkish club, saying: "Yes, that's right. Some supporters have tried to dig a tunnel with their bare hands."
While we applaud the devotion of the traveling Galatasaray fans, for those of you who are contemplating heading north to watch the Portland Timbers begin their defense of the Cascadia Cup in a battle with the Seattle Sounders, all you have to do is get on the bus.
The 107 Independent Supporters Trust--the organizing group of the Timbers Army--is handling all Seattle Away day travel. Tickets are still available for public purchase and include a bus trip and game ticket option to get you there or just a ticket-only option if you want to drive yourself.
They're going fast but you can get yours now by visiting the 107ist.org site here. What are you waiting for?
Image via Portland Mercury
"Communication, it's everything, on and off the field," Valeri says. "We go on the road and we can't learn. I want to start this month. I have coaching, an English teacher. She teaches me words and sentences, but I want to start. I want to watch films and read books. Only English."
If you want to learn more about what drives new Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri, why he came to MLS ("It's grown. I find a team, a club, MLS, that is spectacular"), how his family is settling into Portland (he's taken his four-year-old daughter, Constanza, to the zoo), how he's bonding with his teammates (he roomed with team captain Will Johnson in Tucson preseason), and how the Argentine is trying harder than ever to bring his English up to the same speed as his silky moves on the pitch (see above), then you must read this excellent feature by Brian Gjurgevich in this week's Portland Mercury. Grab a copy on your nearest street corner to save the artwork and read the piece online right here.
